“Today we have a further increase of six local transmission cases. As part of tracking and tracing, we have collated background information on how these patients were infected. We will provide more information to the public to make them aware of how these local transmissions occur.

“We will however not disclose full details as this information is subject to patient confidentiality which we are bound by.

“I must inform the public that there was a debate with clinicians, epidemiologists [and] virologists on when we, as government must release results to the public. These experts raised an issue of an ethical obligation to immediately alert patients as soon as the results become available.

“This therefore means that by the time a confirmation test is conducted in public laboratories, patients would have been notified of their initial results. This clarification is important because as government, we had announced to the public that all positive results will be verified through our public laboratories and the NICD.

“In instances where our confirmation tests give contrary results, we will inform the public, make reference to that specific result previously announced and give the outcome of the confirmation results”

Among the new cases in the country is a 2-year-old boy from the Western Cape who has not travelled internationally. This is the youngest confirmed case.

Here are information about other confirmed cases below;

-A 45 year-old male who had travelled to Belgium, UK, France and the US